Bobby and I had a plan to go to the South Lake and fish for a limit and then try our luck in catching a really big fish on the North Lake (they are connected by a canal). How did we get this plan? It all goes back to “Once upon a time”.
THE DAY WILL COME
On May 15, 2010, Bobby Brown and I, Jim Hill, traveled to Lakeside, Oregon for the Ten Mile Lakes American Bass Association Tournament. The events you are about to read are real; But the names are the same to embarrass the innocent. AMP Energy Drinks sent us on the mission to catch large green fish called bass. The following is my report. Please use this information wisely as it has been known to cause a strange desire to rip lips and yell, “Fish On”. Proceed at your own risk!
Bass tournaments at Ten Mile Lakes are like getting old. You pick up a lot of weight, but people usually are not too impressed. Any time you can go out on the lake and catch quality fish in the 3-5 lb range, it is a great day on the water and this lake can provide that opportunity- particularly in the spring.
Bobby and I had a plan to go to the South Lake and fish for a limit and then try our luck in catching a really big fish on the North Lake (they are connected by a canal). How did we get this plan? It all goes back to “Once upon a time”.
Once upon a time, I decided to go fishing with my friend Bruce Cuthill from Mid-Valley Bass Club (MVBC). We had competed against each other the past few years each taking turns as angler of the year for MVBC. After the Green Peter club tournament he asked me if I would like to fish with him at our next club event. I said, “Yeah!” then checked my schedule to make sure it was possible. I have admired Bruce’s uncanny ability to continually catch fish under difficult circumstances. And, I was also aware that Bruce always kicked my tail at Ten Mile Lake and that’s where we would fish together. You know, “If you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em”, therefore, I was stoked!
When we got to Ten Mile, I let Bruce show me around and I took careful notes on his presentations and locations of where he felt big bass lived at Ten Mile. (These lakes can lull you into catching small fish so it is really important to find where the big bite is!) We hunted for big fish and caught several nice fish on North Lake, but the big one got away. You see, I threw a spinner bait over a nest (we had not noticed) and I hooked into a giant of a bass. Bruce called it the biggest he had ever seen on that lake! I had that giant bass on my line for about 15 seconds before he spit my spinner bait about 5 feet from the boat. I tried to get over missing the fish that would have won the tournament, but Bruce reminded me of how big the fish was every 30 minutes, and probably will for at least a year!
After telling the story to Bobby and having another trip to Ten Mile under our belt, we felt like we had a plan. It was obvious that more fish were biting on the South Lake, but we knew that some giant fish lived on the North Lake. Our plan to catch a limit, and then hunt for big fish seemed like a good idea.
We worked our plan to perfection, kind of. By 9:00 am we had a limit of nice fish- about 14+ pounds- and by 10:30 we were culling fish. After a quick snack and some AMP Energy to rejuvenate our focus and stamina, we headed to North Lake to find a GIANT fish. After some culling we had about 15 pounds of fish. We knew it would take about 20 pounds to win so we risked it all for a chance at a top 5 finish.
We were a great team working over several great structures that should have had fish and we kept each other’s spirits up, but the bites were just not there. We used those last three hours and worked over some good areas, but we were only able to cull one fish for our efforts.
Man did we feel like champions on that day! We did a great job of executing our plan based on the best information we had. We ended up 9th out of 23 teams, but we did the best with what we had. Isn’t that what every man hopes for his life- even fishing? Sometimes you can’t control whether your fish average 3 lbs. or 5 lbs. One thing we all can do is do the best we can with what God has given us. In the game of tournament bass fishing, information and knowledge are huge components. These gifts, if you have them, are your keys to success. If Bobby and I keep executing what we know and we keep expanding our information and knowledge of how to use it, then THE DAY WILL COME when those 3 pounders will be 5 pounders and our mission will be accomplished!
AND BRUCE, IT’S THE BIGGEST FISH I EVER SAW THERE TOO.